Possible double-bass rig?

[MidniteBlaze]

I came up with this idea some time ago and was curious if anyone has tried it. Get a headphone splitter and an extra drum pedal, hook up the splitter to the back of the drum kit and then the two pedals into that. Will both pedals still work? Then for double or triple tapping notes you can pretend you have double bass for it. I dunno, maybe it's a dumb idea but I was curious. Let me know if any of you have tried this.

[Quastor]

I came up with this idea some time ago and was curious if anyone has tried it. Get a headphone splitter and an extra drum pedal, hook up the splitter to the back of the drum kit and then the two pedals into that. Will both pedals still work? Then for double or triple tapping notes you can pretend you have double bass for it. I dunno, maybe it's a dumb idea but I was curious. Let me know if any of you have tried this.

This was tried shortly after the release of the game, and it's confirmed to work. I believe the trick is to make sure you've got a mono splitter, not a stereo one.

[Frederf]

It works like a stroke victim runs. If you want a double bass setup you need smarter circuitry than a Y-adapter.
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/4199/schematicsil8.png
http://www.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47078

It looks complicated but it's <$15 worth of components. Basically the circuit takes either pedal hit and turns it into a very short "circuit complete" event which allows either pedal to be in either position and the other one works as normal.

[JerWA]

Thanks for the link, I was just talking about such a setup with v0lum3 and wondering how to integrate it into his real bass pedal swap. I want my bass pedal to be pimp. :-D

[coolcool23]

It looks complicated but it's <$15 worth of components. Basically the circuit takes either pedal hit and turns it into a very short "circuit complete" event which allows either pedal to be in either position and the other one works as normal.

Or you could play properly and rather than hit both at the same time, which is not nessasary at any point in the game, do the following:

<img src="http://www.techtalkblog.com/basic.jpg"></img>

I've made my own using this method already, and as long as you play by the rules its much easier. :)

As I mentioned there is also no way you would need to hit the pedals fast enough in this game for it to register both at the same time. If I could coordinate my feet well enough, my setup would work perfectly during those annoying 16th bass note sections in the metallica songs.

EDIT: BTW, my stereo splitter works fine with my setup.

[JTBold]

Or you could play properly and rather than hit both at the same time, which is not nessasary at any point in the game

I think you've missed the point--it has nothing to do with hitting both at the same time. Most drummers play "heel up", meaning their heels are up and their toes are down when they play, which means their resting position leaves the pedal beater contacting the bass drum head. With the simple design of the RB drum set, this means that a double-bass setup using a simple Y-cable would result in BOTH pedals "on" at the same time if you're playing heel up, since both pedals would be depressed simultaneously whenever you're not playiing.

For such a setup to recognize bass drum hits, you'd need to have both pedals not depressed, and then press only one at at time. You'd either have to play heel down, or keep your legs up in the air.

The circuit mentioned in this thread solves this problem since it

[coolcool23]

Well, I understand, I guess my point was that if you learn to play heel down for this game (which, coincidentally, will reduce the chances of snapping the bass pedal since the pressure is not being applied directly to the middle of the pedal) you can do it with about $2 worth of components and 10 minutes if you know how to solder.

To each his own though.

[Highlandlassie1]

Be sure you get a MONO 2 conductor splitter (not a headphone splitter, which is stereo)

no soldering required.

It works just fine, but no you cant have one pedal down all the time.

Not that that is a problem for me.

[JTBold]

Well, I understand, I guess my point was that if you learn to play heel down for this game (which, coincidentally, will reduce the chances of snapping the bass pedal since the pressure is not being applied directly to the middle of the pedal) you can do it with about $2 worth of components and 10 minutes if you know how to solder.

Or you can do it for $15 worth of component WITHOUT soldering:
http://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3428
...and it'll work with either heel-up or heel-down, and you won't have to worry about playing too fast and having some of your hits not register because one pedal was still in the "activation zone" where the reed switch inside the pedal base was still picking up the magnetic field of the foot plate.

Your advice to play heel-down is rather odd, since this IS a game called "Rock Band". You do realize that most rock drummers play heel up, right? Personally, my background is in jazz drumming, so most of my experience is heel down. But that would be the exception in rock drumming.

Finally, playing heel-up or heel-down has nothing to do with where pressure is applied. In fact, most people playing heel-up will place the ball of their foot farther up the foot plate, and on the Rock Band pedal this is exactly where you'd need to place the pressure to avoid damaging the pedal--right over the orange bar. Likewise, some heel-down players could place their heel farther up the pedal, resulting in too much pressure on the very weakest part of the RB pedal (i.e. between the hinge and the orange bar / rubber stoppers). No matter which style you use, it's possible to damage the pedal if you apply pressure on a weak portion of the pedal.

Personally, I built my own pedal using a real bass drum pedal:
http://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2967
I haven't needed a double-pedal setup since the Rock Band charts are written in such a way that it simply isn't necessary.

[Frederf]

I don't see why heel-up or heel-down matters. The point is to make a double-bass rig that will register hits no matter how you play. The rig that is able to register a hit on one regardless of how the other pedal is placed is superior, end of story.

I don't think anyone appreciates their particular technique ridiculed. "Oh you don't need that if you play like this." Some people don't play like that, enjoy the idea that their rig doesn't force any unrealistic conditions on hit-registration, and enjoy the technical creativity required to make it work. Go away.